Aboriginal Artists Also Featured in WAG’s 100 Masters

It’s not just Rembrandt and Van Gogh. The Winnipeg Art Gallery’s 100 Masters: Only in Canada exhibition is bringing five centuries of the world’s greatest art to Winnipeg, including stunning examples of Indigenous works from coast to coast to coast.

“It’s absolutely right 100 Masters should have Bill Reid’s Wasgo and Alex Janvier’s Lubicon alongside Rodin’s The Kiss and Warhol’s Mao,” says Stephen Borys, WAG CEO & Executive Director, who curated the exhibition. “When I made my requests for one hundred masterpieces from galleries across Canada, choosing works that highlight this country’s stellar Aboriginal artists was a given. Their level of craft, their quality of expression and their cultural significance undeniably make these artists masters.”

100 Masters: Only in Canada, which runs May 11 to August 18, is the final exhibition in the WAG’s centennial year. Aboriginal artists represented in the show are Norval Morriseau (Anishinaabe), Bearman; Marion Tuu’laq (Inuit), 30 Faces; Jane Ash Poitras (Cree), From Riel to Peltier; Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (Coast Salish), Shaman Dancing in Sunset; Robert Davidson (Haida), Killer Whale Transforming into a Thunderbird; and Chief Nakaṕankam, Mungo Martin, (Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwagu’ł), Cannibal Birds mask.

On Saturday July 13 at 2pm, curator, art historian and educator Jaimie Isaac will be giving an illustrated talk focusing on the exhibition’s Aboriginal artists. A member of Sagkeeng First Nation, Jamie Isaac holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and an Arts and Cultural Management Certificate from the University of Winnipeg and worked as the visual arts coordinator for the inaugural Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s national event in Winnipeg.

More information on 100 Masters: Only in Canada is available at 100masters.wag.ca. BMO is the presenting sponsor for 100 Masters: Only in Canada.